James Lovegrove

The crew of Serenity finds itself in the clutches of a machine that has forced them all into a deep sleep. At first they dream of their ideal lives, but soon dreams give way to nightmares and they are plunged ever closer to death in their dreams and in reality. All the while River is the only one who is aware of what's going on, but is trapped in a drug-induced sleep state that seemingly leaves her powerless to do anything but watch as events unfold.

I was hoping Lovegrove would find his show more footing with this third book, and boy did he ever! Bouncing from dream to dream and seeing each person's vision of their own ideal reality and their worst nightmares was incredibly immersing and exciting. And River's role as an omnipresent viewer of everyone's dreams, and unsung hero at the end was such a satisfying way to really showcase her powers.

This was my favorite of the three Firefly novels I've read so far. Out of the lot of them, this is one that I genuinely wish was turned into a set of episodes. I would have loved so see it all played out on screen.

[Update 16-JUL-2025]
Managed to track down the short story, "Haven & Hell," that was printed as an exclusive bonus for the Barnes & Noble special edition printing.

This short story focuses on Shepard Book shortly after he leaves the crew of Serenity and settles on Haven. He becomes aware of a father abusing his youngest son as an emotional outlet for a recent bout of tragedies that have befallen the family. After multiple attemps at trying to connect with the father and failing, Book uses some of his skills from his mysterious, less-than-godly, past to intimidate the father into listening to him. After a good preaching and many tears, the father finally changes his tune and all ends well.

This short story was a bit simple, and ended a little too cleanly for my liking, but perhaps I'm asking too much from a short story. It certainly wasn't your typical Firefly escapade, that's for sure. Still, it was a nice short story, and gives us a glimpse into what Book's new life is like.

I wouldn't rate this as a must-read, but if you're a completionist and can't track down this book, somone on Reddit kindly posted scans of the short story in two parts:
Haven and Hell Part 1
Haven and Hell Part 2 show less

I was impressed with this. It had to have been difficult to write a novel about characters from a beloved TV show: fans will have their own ideas how these characters should act and sound, and if that weren’t intimidating enough, the long amount of time that’s passed since the show’s cancellation can only have made things harder. I’m happy to report that Lovegrove pulled it off magnificently! This story gives individual characters their turn in the spotlight, and NO ONE seems out of show more character. He’s captured their attitudes, their voice, even, in some cases, their mannerisms. A few of the characters even had fuller treatment than they enjoyed in the show, with little snippets of back story here and there to flesh them out.

For example, the show hints at a warm relationship between Jayne and his mother; the novel shows a few times when he is thinking about her. It never feels out of place, and it’s always done in a down-to-earth, Jayne-Cobb style. Zoe is as tough as ever, and Mal is just all kinds of wonderful. For me though, the most impressive parts were the sections with Shepherd Book. He is arguably the most mysterious character in the series, and he keeps secrets even from his friends and crew mates. In the show, viewers never get inside his head. In this novel, Lovegrove tells a big chunk of the story from Book’s point of view, and it really works well. He is fleshed out enough to make him seem real as a narrator. He’s relatable. He’s also still mysterious, and his back story, such as it is, is told in such a way that it explains his character’s motivation and his commitment to helping others . . . while conveniently leaving out ALL the specific details about his past. It was brilliantly handled.

The story itself was well-told, and the tension kept building throughout. There was plenty of action, but there was also plenty of room for the characters to just be themselves. It would have been easy for an author to be lazy with regard to the story; some fans would be so happy to see these characters again that the plot itself might have suffered. However, that is certainly not the case here, and plot’s setup and resolution made for an intriguing storyline. The novel felt a bit like an episode of the show, but with more detail (so perhaps a 2-part episode). I’m sure this was intentional, and it worked well. Bonus! Lots of minor characters from the show get mentioned at some point in the story, and the text gives a nod to many of the events of the series. This was a must-read for any fans of Firefly. I don’t know whether it would be enjoyable even for people who haven’t seen the show, but I hope so. You DON’T have to have seen Serenity to enjoy it. An exciting space Western that lives up to the show. show less

“If” he said, and he repeated the word for emphasis, "if I go along with this entirely hare-brained idea, which'll most likely end up gettin’ us all killed, Jayne’ll be in my debt."

“That he surely will.”

“And I’ll have this to rub his nose in for months to come."

"Again, yes.”

Mal crooked one corner of his mouth. “Then what the heck? I’m in. Just tell me this: when did a shipload of criminals, desperadoes, and fugitives become such a bunch of do-gooders?”

Inara had show more the answer. “When their captain showed them how.”

WHAT'S THE MAGNIFICENT NINE ABOUT?
Fourteen years ago, Temperance Jones walked out of Jayne Cobb's life without warning. They'd been partners in crime for some time—and in a few other ways, too. Now, while Serenity and her crew are between jobs, Temperance (now using McCloud as a last name) sends Jayne a message—her town's water supply is being held hostage by a local gang called the Scourers. If they aren't stopped, her small town, like many others on the planet already—will fall to this group and what little water they have will come at too steep a price.

Mal's not interested in helping, but the rest of the crew remembers how not long ago, they did something similar for Inara's friend Nandi—and that went okay, right? (well, eventually). So they convince the Captain that this is the right thing to do.

It was probably when Wash almost didn't out-maneuver a heat-seeking missile—which still resulted in Serenity being disabled for days—that everyone realized that this was going to be harder than defending Nandi's ranch. But now, they had to find some way to stop the Scourers to save Temperance's town and their own lives.

Oh, and somewhere along the way, someone needs to do some thinking about why the not-quite-fourteen-year-old daughter of Temperance is named Jane.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS
I'm not going to let myself fully geek out about this book, but some of the highlights and/or things I'd like to spend a lot of time discussing include:
* River got to talk to more cows!
* Shepherd Book's Christianity was a little more pronounced than I'm used to (and they actually explicitly called it "Christianity"--it was always clear that's what it was, but no one ever used the C-word in the show/movie)
* While trying to fly the ship away from the missile, Wash remembered the words of "his Zen Buddhist flight instructor": You are a leaf on the wind. I almost threw the book away at that point, why do that to me?
* River defended Serenity using blades and guns—and was (again) the hero of the moment.
* Wash and Zoë have some great moments together. Zoë has some pretty good moments that have nothing to do with Wash, too.
* The Chapter titles (one of those things I never pay enough attention to) are even pretty fun: "The Inevitable Bar Brawl" and "Landmines of an Improvised and Somewhat Homespun Nature," for example.
* Jayne described talking to River as "a radio and the signal keeps hopping, changing channels at random." Hard to beat that.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE MAGNIFICENT NINE?
This is just so much fun. Lovegrove captures the feel of the show and the voices of the characters so, so, so well that it's impossible not to enjoy the book if you liked Firefly.

Is there anything else to say, really? This was a satisfying, entertaining, and nostalgic ride with Serenity, with the bonus of getting some good focus on Jayne Cobb—and maybe seeing him in a better light than you'd be tempted to otherwise. show less

The Age of Ra is a fast-paced, testosterone-laden adventure set in an alternate present where the gods of ancient Egypt have been visibly ruling humanity since the early 20th century. On p. 101, author Lovegrove quickly sketches the global theo-political scenario in which various international blocs have aligned under the principal deities. Priests manage ba energies granted by the gods, and these power a wide range of fanciful military hardware. The alternate history isn't worked out in show more great detail, and I failed to find the rationale for it compelling, but the setting is original and well-constructed. The premise of the action is that Egypt (or "Freegypt")--the world's only country not under specific divine patronage--incubates a movement against the theocratic system, and the protagonist is a British military officer who gets caught up in the course of events. The plot moves forward satisfyingly through short chapters, with occasional interludes taking place on the plane of the gods.

The characters are credible, though often a bit stereotyped. Lovegrove is given to the occasional wayward simile, but on the whole, the writing is efficient and palatable. There is a sort of grisly 21st-century action cinematic feel to it. There's no profound philosophy or psychological insight here, but some appreciable entertainment.

Some suggested music to accompany this novel:
"Bad Blood" by Ministry
"Face in the Sand" by Iron Maiden
"Daughter of the Desert" by Transglobal Underground
"Master of the Universe" by Hawkwind
"Godwhacker" by Steely Dan
"War Pigs" by Black Sabbath
"Hem of Your Garment" by Cake
"Veteran of the Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult

I suspect if you don't like heavy metal, you wouldn't much groove on this book anyway. One reviewer remarked that his wife thought the paperback cover looked like game packaging (my Other Reader called it "lurid"), and I'm sure this book could be the basis of a solid MMOFPS. show less